


Adrenaline

by Flightless_Bird



Series: Stitches [7]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Desert Bluffs, Fighting, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Strex Kevin, Rehabilitation Au, Strexcorp, Weapons, bloodlust referenced, dana is nice, embarrassed kevin, flustered Kevin, he is trying very hard, mentions of past violence, slight language warning, strex training, thats a weird one lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 10:39:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14259171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flightless_Bird/pseuds/Flightless_Bird
Summary: Strex training stays in the system for a long time.





	Adrenaline

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! Thank you guys for the patience in waiting for this one, it was a ton of fun to write. Let me know what you liked and thanks for reading! :3

_It ripped like skin under the blade, if he looked close enough, it was as though bruises bloomed, and his knuckles stung and ached, but hell, it felt like the rush his Sight had, and he—_

  
“Hey, Kevin! I brought you some takeout, I hope you don’t—” That was as far as Dana made it.

  
The sound of the gym door slamming shut behind her scared the shit out Kevin, and he froze guiltily—just before the punching bag swung back and knocked into him with a _thud_.

  
“Oh crap!” Dana squeaked, as the Voice yelped and tumbled back onto the floor. “I’m sorry! Are you okay?” She set her plastic bag on the floor and hurried over to him, slowing uncertainly as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

  
“I—I’m okay,” he answered quickly. Scrambling to his feet, he grabbed the punching bag to stop its creaking swinging.

Adrenaline still sizzled in him and it was taking a lot for his fingers not to itch to hit again.

  
Dana glanced over his shorts and t-shirt. “I didn’t know you came here. Earl mentioned he saw you come in on his way out, so I wanted to surprise you.” She offered an apologetic smile, then looked back at the beaten punching bag. There were a couple places where the surface was slightly torn and her eyes flicked to those.

  
Ears burning, Kevin shoved his hands into his pockets and willed his claws to retreat. “That’s nice of you. And thanks for the food.”

  
“Mmhm,” she hummed thoughtfully. Her eyebrows raised and she pointed to the bag. “Are those knives?”

  
Swearing under his breath, he snatched the two jagged blades from the bag, realized he couldn’t just shove them into his pockets, and proceeded to hide them behind his back. “I— No—Well, yes, but they’re just— They were a gift,” he stammered out, voice pitched up an octave.

  
Dana just looked at him for a long moment. There was something like amusement in her brown eyes. “From…?”

  
Well, StrexCorp. Kevin chewed the inside of his mouth. “Um. A friend.”

  
“Oh, who?”

  
“…Nessa.”

  
“Nessa the robin gave you a set of throwing knives.”

  
“Oh, shit, I told you about her.”

  
Dana laughed then, shaking her head. “I don’t care where they came from, Kev,” she assured him. “I just haven’t see too many sides of you, you know? It’s like meeting you for the first time now.” Smiling, she reached out and tapped on the punching bag. “So can you fight?”

  
Toeing at the floor, he nodded. “I guess, yeah.”

  
“Did you take lessons or…?”

  
He nodded again. “Strex training.”

  
At that, her smile faltered a little. “Why do you still do it?” There was nothing hurt or angry in her voice; just genuine curiosity.

  
Kevin shrugged. There really wasn’t much of a good explanation for it, really. Saying that hitting things made the bloodlust go away was not the best of reasons for beating the shit out of everything in a gym. “I…like it?” he tried, cringing at his own confession.

  
But almost at once, Dana’s mood brightened again. “Oh, cool! Fighting’s a good skill in Night Vale sometimes. It can be a little dangerous, especially around Valentine’s Day.”

  
Kevin blinked. “So you don’t think it’s…bad?”

  
“Of course not! You don’t fight for Strex anymore, after all,” she pointed out. “You’re one of us now.”

  
Something little and warm blossomed in Kevin’s chest.

  
They shared a quiet look and it occurred to him that he hadn’t had a friend in so long.

  
Then Dana was right back to her cheer, stepped back to survey the room in thought. “Okay, so, before we eat,” she said, “I wanna see if you can hit this with a knife from across the room.”

  
“What happens if I make it?” he asked, already starting to head toward the back wall.

  
“When you don’t make it, you owe me a day on your show.”

  
“Okay, well, when I _do_ make it, smartass, you owe me another dinner.”

  
“You can’t call the Mayor of Night Vale a smartass!”

  
“I’m not taking it back.”


End file.
